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Rank the Jazz's rivals in the Western Conference

Ferguson_Mellochill

Ferguson_Mellochill

Well-Known Member
2019 Prediction Contest Winner
Looking at how teams' rosters are shaking out, here are the Jazz's rivals in the WC. How do you think the Jazz stack up against these teams? I'll hold my comments for now..

Utah Jazz Starters:
1 Mike Conley
2 Donovan Mitchell
3 Bojan Bogdanovic
4 Jeff Green
5 Rudy Gobert

Bench:
6 Emanuel Mudiay
7 Dante Exum
8 Joe Ingles
9 Royce O'Neale
10 Ed Davis

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LA Lakers Starters:
1 Avery Bradley
2 Danny Green
3 Lebron James
4 Anthony Davis
5 Javale McGee

Bench:
6 Rajon Rondo
7 Alex Caruso
8 Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
9 Kyle Kuzma
10 Dwight Howard

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LA Clippers Starters:
1 Patrick Beverly
2 Landry Shamet
3 Paul George
4 Kawhi Leonard
5 Ivica Zubac

Bench:
6 Lou Williams
7 Rodney McGruder
8 Maurice Harkless
9 Jamychal Green
10 Montrezl Harrell

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Houston Rockets Starters:
1 Russell Westbrook
2 James Harden
3 Daniel House Jr.
4 PJ Tucker
5 Clint Capella

Bench:
6 Austin Rivers
7 Eric Gordon
8 Gerald Green
9 Thabo Sefalosha
10 Nene

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Denver Nuggets Starters:
1 Jamal Murray
2 Gary Harris
3 Will Barton
4 Paul Millsap
5 Nikola Jokic

Bench:
6 Monte Morris
7 Malik Beasley
8 Torrey Craig
9 Jerami Grant
10 Mason Plumlee




 
Shad said:
I think the Jazz are better than all of those except maybe the Clippers
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Yeah in this case id give the edge to the jazz for starting 5. There is a drop off from Clippers top 2 to their 3rd best player. I think Utah's top 4 is as good as anyone's top 4. But would give the Clipps the edge for bench.
 
The Lakers rely mostly on Lebron to run and create their offense. It looks like they'll stagger Lebron and AD to make sure that one of them is on the floor at nearly all times. They don't have much scoring off the bench. Other than Lebron and Caruso, they lack players who can consistently penetrate off the dribble. They want to play fast and get downhill as a team if they can. Lebron and Davis breaking together are nearly impossible to stop. Otherwise, they're waiting for Lebron and Rondo to set guys up in the half court, or they'll run a Lebron/Davis screen and roll. They need someone to step up as a third scorer. Ideally, they'd have a scoring guard whom Lebron can dish to as a release valve. Someone like CJ McCollum would be perfect for them. They're hoping Kuzma will step up.

The Lakers look to be a mediocre 3-pt shooting team. That limits their offensive spacing and likely keeps them from being elite. I see the Lakers as a 4 or 5 seed, with a win total in the 47-50 range, due to Lebron and Davis likely missing some time. I’d like to see the Clippers and Lakers meet in an early round of the playoffs (either a 4/5 or 3/6 matchup) so that one eliminates the other. They deserve each other.

LA Lakers Starters:
1 Avery Bradley
2 Danny Green
3 Lebron James
4 Anthony Davis
5 Javale McGee

Bench
6 Rajon Rondo
7 Alex Caruso
8 Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
9 Kyle Kuzma
10 Dwight Howard
 
Some of our bench players like Mudiay and Exum need to prove that they can stay healthy/be relied upon, but I think our top 8 players are right there with the Clippers top 8.

The Jazz, if healthy, beats every other team on paper.

Mike Conley
Donovan Mitchell
Bojan Bogdonovich
Joe Ingles
Rudy Gobert
-
Royce O'neale
Ed Davis
Jeff Green
 
Engorged On Unborn Gore said:
Some of our bench players like Mudiay and Exum need to prove that they can stay healthy/be relied upon, but I think our top 8 players are right there with the Clippers top 8.

The Jazz, if healthy, beats every other team on paper.

Mike Conley
Donovan Mitchell
Bojan Bogdonovich
Joe Ingles
Rudy Gobert
-
Royce O'neale
Ed Davis
Jeff Green
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Mudiay could become an important player during the playoffs, since he's one of the few guys the Jazz have who can score in isolation. This was a problem for the Jazz against the Rockets' switching defense. Mitchell can take his defender. Royce actually showed that he could drive and score off the dribble. Otherwise, Mudiay and Exum are guys who can break the paint and create scoring opportunities on their own. I'm curious to see what Mudiay can do on a good team.
 
Catchall said:
Mudiay could become an important player during the playoffs, since he's one of the few guys the Jazz have who can score in isolation. This was a problem for the Jazz against the Rockets' switching defense. Mitchell can take his defender. Royce actually showed that he could drive and score off the dribble. Otherwise, Mudiay and Exum are guys who can break the paint and create scoring opportunities on their own. I'm curious to see what Mudiay can do on a good team.
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If Mudiay becomes an important player to our title hopes something has gone either really right or really wrong.
 
MVP said:
I think both Jazz and Clippers are tier 1 contenders, Nuggets, Rockets and GSW tier 2... Lakers, Blazers, Spurs and the rest are pretenders.
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The Nuggets are a good team, but they really rely on Jokic to create their offense. He lumbers down the center of the lane like an elephant, picking up defenders as he goes, and then sends passes to open shooters. The Nuggets struggle with the Jazz because Gobert can guard him one-on-one. Then our defenders stay home on their shooters. Unless the Nuggets' guards are on fire shooting the ball, I think the Jazz would beat them in a series.

Favors did a good job guarding Millsap last year. We're going to need someone to step up and do that. Probably that assignment will go to Royce.
 
If everyone is 100% healthy and we are starting a playoff series... I think Clips, Houston, Lakers, GSW are scary. I think they are all beatable. They all have a player that could absolutely dominate a series.
 
Handlogten's Heros said:
If everyone is 100% healthy and we are starting a playoff series... I think Clips, Houston, Lakers, GSW are scary. I think they are all beatable. They all have a player that could absolutely dominate a series.
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Not afraid of GSW at all. Any of those other teams can beat anyone on any given night. May be harder for Houston over the course of a series, though.
 
I wonder how Houston will do. I think Chris Paul's midrange was more dangerous against us than Westbrook's game. Clips and Lakers will be tough in playoffs, I am not afraid of Nuggets and I don't believe that Klay will be 100 percent in shape in May (I think GSW will struggle to make playoffs).
 
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